Small school vs. Big?

Honey77484 · #1 10-06-2001, 01:15 AM

What would you guys say is better, a big university or a smaller one? I'm at the point where I get to think about which kind of college is better for me. Whatever that means! Anyway, I know there's a lot of differences between big schools & small schools but how does size really affect rush & greek life? I actually just read a post where a girl said her pledge class was 15, I believe?? I think that sounds so comfortable and fun! Is sisterhood more meaningful when there's less of you? Oh and btw, how many ppl are in a typically "large" sorority and how many in a "small" one? Thanks for ur help!

amycat412 · #2 10-06-2001, 01:22 AM

Honey-

I went to USC, typically xonsidered a larger school and I loved it. It totally didn't feel big--as you see the same people all the time anyway thru your major, your extra-curriculars, etc.

Sororities at USC are close to 200 women these days with pledge classes around 60 or so, I believe.

My best friend from high school went to the Univ of San Diego-- and she loved it too--but there, she knew practically everyone in her class of 800. She loved it.

But for me, I love that I can meet people now who were in my class and maybe we didn't know each other, but thru a sort of six degrees of separation, we can make a contact.

When I applied to schools, I had a mix of large and small - USC, Cal State Long Beach, USD, Chapman and ASU. I was definitely leaning towards the larger schools all along, I think because I went to a small, private high school.

aggieAXO · #3 10-06-2001, 01:39 AM

I went to a large university-Texas A&M and loved it. there were about 250-300 people in most of my classes. When talking to some of my friends that went to smaller schools-I think it felt more like high school-you were called on and sometimes roll was taken-yuk. When I left high school I did not want to go to a similar setting. Also, the town I lived in-College Station was basically ran by college students-no adults-I also liked this. I guess it is where you feel most comfortable-If you want to get to know your professors well (sometimes you can do this in a large university-but rare) and have interaction with them-if this helps you learn more effectively then a small university is for you, but if you want to do your own thing and aminemity (sp?) is what you like-then a large university is great-but be careful as sometimes people can get lost in such a large setting (not enough one on one interaction) and eventually grades drop and one can fail out.

aggieAXO · #4 10-06-2001, 01:44 AM

oops-I guess I did not answer the entire question-as far as large sorority vs. small-I can only give the viewpt. of a large one-yes my sorority was large but I met a group of girls with the same or similar major and clicked well with them. I also hung out with other girls that were in completely different majors and enjoyed their company-lots of diversity in a large sorority. Yes, I did not know everyone well, but it did not make my experience any less.

K

amycat412 · #5 10-06-2001, 01:46 AM

And even in a large university not all your classes are 300 people. My general ed survey courses were huge, but all my major classes-- I was a Creative Writing major--were limited to 30 students.

aggieAXO · #6 10-06-2001, 02:18 AM

very true, at my university as you start taking more classes for your major (not the core classes that everyone has to take) clases become smaller (about down to 50-100 at A&M).

K

mmcat · #7 10-06-2001, 08:13 AM

i went to purdue for bachelors...
some core classes were huge, others not.
most of the specialty classes for my major were no bigger than 30...
i did my master's at nmsu. all classes relatively small.
cheers
mmcat

BrownEyedGirl · #8 10-06-2001, 09:36 PM

I went to a small private school (1100 people) that was actually smaller than my high school, and I adored it while I was meeting new people everyday. For me, being away from home and getting so many new friends was exhilarating! After my freshman year, though, I knew I needed a bigger school with more room to grow and more variety in every aspect of college life. My first school was nearly 90% Greek and my sorority was over ten percent of campus (120 girls). At my new chapter, my sorority is very strong with 165+ girls, but on a campus of 12,000 or so there is plenty of room to make mistakes and meet new people. My classes at both schools have been small, but at any school general freshman classes tend to be bigger...here they're about 150 or so in Western Civilization and required science classes, etc. Hope this helps!

ZTAMich · #9 10-07-2001, 12:40 PM

I love my little school. 11,000 students rock on! To begin with, I have never been in a class with over 40 students and the bigger classes were usualy nite classes where the continuing studies adults joined us, or we joined them depending on how you look at it. Professors I had fall semester freshmen year still know who i am two years later. i never have over a 5 minute walk to class. the list goes on.
as for my sorority, with the addition of 14 new girls this semester we have a total of 38 sisters. I think the biggest sorority on campus (there are 3 others) has 50 girls. My new member class ad 4 other girls besides myself and last spring's formal recruitment brought us 7 great ladies. I could talk probably for at least 15 minutes about every sister, telling you her position in our org, what she does outside of it, her major, her goals etc. it's amazing to have people you can be that close with. sometimes I think being at a bigger school with a bigger chapter would be interesting and maybe fun to do but I think I would be overwhelmed way too quickly. i don't always eat meals with sisters, our formal is more like a semi-formal, we don't use an outside photographer for events , recruitment is low key, and our house is full with 6 sisters. and really, i don't think i'd have it any other way.

there are definely benefits both ways.

SilverTurtle · #10 10-07-2001, 02:15 PM

I attended a small school.. approx 1500 undergrads. My classes ranged from 4-30 people in size, but averaged about 20 or so. (My larger classes were the core, or survey, ones that everyon has to take).

The Good- I loved the small campus (like a 3 minute walk to ANYWHERE!). The professors are really involved with the students ...I even go drinking with a few of them these days! (i've graduated

). You get to know nearly everyone, especially if you have the same or similar majors.

The Bad- Occasional lack of things to do. Everyone went home on the weekends (which I still don't understand

). You get to know nearly everyone. Most of the people came from similar backgrounds (ethnic, religious, you name it) so you weren't exposed to a lot of different things unless you went out of the way for it.

The average sororit size was around 35-50 people depending on the year and semester. Greek life was TINY.. between 8-14% of the students.. and we didn't have any NPC or IFC organizations, so didn't have a lot of those big traditional greek things. We did have Greek Week, Greek Sing, etc. It was just different than most people's greek experience. (Not that I would trade my experience for the world! )

I plan on going to a big state school for grad school just to be different. I feel like I experienced one, and now it's time for the other.

Heather · #11 10-07-2001, 10:03 PM

Well, I guess I went to a medium sized school, around 8000. I loved it and it was the right fit for me. I only had 3 classes with 100+ students, most had around 30, a few with 12 or less. My sorority seemed to average around 110 members, pledge class sizes (and quota) were 44, 41, (we added a new sorority) 35, 38. I knew every sister, I was closer to some that other but I think that happens with a group of 25 or a group of 200. I think the other groups were around 80-100 members. We didn't have a huge greek population but the greeks were very active on campus and visible so it seemed like there were more of them. There were lots of people on campus that I didn't know but I always knew were I could find someone I did know if I was looking for a familiar face. I have friends at tiny schools and at huge schools, and they all loved parts of it. I happened to be happy in the middle, just check them all out!

KSigkid · #12 10-07-2001, 10:32 PM

When it comes to rush, size of school sometimes isn't a big deal. For example, I go to Boston University - a pretty big school, around 15-20,000 undergrads (i'm not sure of the specific number), with classes that are sometimes more than 100 students. When it comes to Greek life though, the Greek system is very small (only about 2-3% of the campus, with less than 10 fraternities), and rush numbers are small. We consistently get around 15 guys, and that number is usually the biggest on campus for fraternities. As far as chapter sizes, we have around 65 guys, which is by far the largest on campus (most are around 20-30). With a school this size, you would expect bigger numbers.

Rush and pledging sizes are going to have a lot more to do with where the school is, as well as other factors. Boston U. traditionally hasn't backed the Greek system a great deal, which helps to keep numbers down. Southern schools usually get bigger rush numbers, and schools such as WPI, where housing isn't guaranteed after freshman year, are going to have larger Greek populations (if for no other reason than to have someplace to live around campus). Now, there are exceptions to these rules of course, but these are just some factors that seem to affect schools, more often than not.

Honey77484 · #13 10-08-2001, 12:32 AM

Hmm...I think, after reading all of your wonderful & very helpful insight...I think I'm a small school kind of girl. Hahaha. I don't know, a pledge class of 10 just sounds so cozy and appealing to me!!! I'm the kind of person who likes to know everyone and likes everyone to know me, and I think it'd just be more comfortable for me, you know? I'm not sure if maybe it has something to do with the huge public high school I currently attend or what. Thanks everyone for all your help!!